As students return to campus from study abroad experiences, many struggle to get credits for major or minor courses to transfer as they had anticipated.
While the study abroad office has clear and detailed instructions to help students along the study abroad process from pre-departure to post-return, the process for how students can plan for getting major and minor credits to transfer is less clear.
Academic departments should be more open to engaging with students pre-departure regarding how certain courses, if successfully completed, will transfer and satisfy major/minor requirements.
Some departments are involved with students’ academic decision-making for studying abroad and will give pre-approval for certain courses as satisfying major/minor credits.
Other departments, however, wait until after students return to engage in conversations about how courses will transfer.
This leaves students in limbo, as they may return back to UNC to find out that a course they had hoped would transfer for a major/minor credit will not actually count.
It is very important for students to be able to plan how to graduate on time.
Especially in a time where economic constraints are burdensome, uncertainty about credit transfers adds to financial stresses and poses a problem that many students cannot afford.
Currently, it is entirely up to the discretion of each academic department to determine how it will deal with processing study abroad credits. If all academic departments could engage in these conversations pre-departure, it would be helpful for students and foster a spirit of intentional academic planning.
